Fleischfresser, L., & Casarin, M. N., & Roncaglia Yabushita, E. E. (2012, June), A Physical Model for the Dot Product: Does it Improve Learning of Vector Mechanics?  Paper presented at 2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, San Antonio, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--20846

\bibitem{asee_peer_20846}
  Fleischfresser, L., \& Casarin, M. N., \& Roncaglia Yabushita, E. E. (2012, June), \emph{A Physical Model for the Dot Product: Does it Improve Learning of Vector Mechanics?}
  Paper presented at 2012 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, San Antonio, Texas.
  10.18260/1-2--20846

Luciano Fleischfresser, Mariana Nascimento Casarin, and Evandro Eizo Roncaglia Yabushita.  "A Physical Model for the Dot Product: Does it Improve Learning of Vector Mechanics?".  2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, San Antonio, Texas, 2012, June.  ASEE Conferences, 2012.  https://peer.asee.org/20846 Internet.  06 Dec, 2024

\bibitem{asee_peer_20846}
  Luciano Fleischfresser, Mariana Nascimento Casarin, and Evandro Eizo Roncaglia Yabushita.
  "A Physical Model for the Dot Product: Does it Improve Learning of Vector Mechanics?".
  \emph{2012 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, San Antonio, Texas, 2012, June}.
  ASEE Conferences, 2012.
  https://peer.asee.org/20846 Internet.  06 Dec, 2024

@INPROCEEDINGS{asee_peer_20846
author = "Luciano Fleischfresser, Mariana Nascimento Casarin, and Evandro Eizo Roncaglia Yabushita"
title = "A Physical Model for the Dot Product: Does it Improve Learning of Vector Mechanics?"
booktitle = "2012 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition"
year = "2012"
month = "June"
address = "San Antonio, Texas"
publisher = "ASEE Conferences"
note = {https://peer.asee.org/20846}
number = {10.18260/1-2--20846}
}

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -                           The use of physical models in                      Engineering Mechanics – Statics classesIn an effort to verify if the use of physical models of statics problems help improve problem-solving skills, we report on a preliminary study with an engineering class of 43 pupils. Thequestion being investigated relates to the ability of performing the scalar product of vectorsefficiently and to understand it as a projection of one vector in another direction. The mainresults are:   1. From the 11 students that missed class on the day the prototype was shown and the      problem solved on the chalkboard, no one solved the question correctly on test day;   2. From the other 32 students in class, 18 got the question right and 14 did not;   3. The most common mistake among all students (the ones that missed class and the      ones that did not) was to keep unit vectors on the answer after performing the scalar      product, that is, they reported the answer as a vector and not as a scalar (44% of the      class);   4. Of the 18 students answering the question right, 9 were males and 9 females, showing      no evidence of gender preference;   5. Only 2 students attempted to solve the problem based on how they learned scalar      product in a previous math class (without unit vectors), and they both made mistakes.One possible cause for the high percentage of students missing the question on test day maybe the time lag between the day when the model was shown and the day students took the test(2 weeks).We plan to use three other physical models (already built) throughout this semester: one forequilibrium; one for plane truss analysis using the method of sections; and one for a spatialtruss using the method of nodes. The approach will again be to present the model in class,show the solution on board, and ask students to solve a similar problem on test day.Previous studies have shown mixed results when it comes to verify problem-solving skillsimprovement with the use of hands-on statics education. Our goal is to verify if spatialvisualization and mathematical skills can be improved when 3-D objects are used tocomplement chalk drawings and solutions.                      Figure: Physical model to demonstrate scalar productRelevant Reference:               Hands-on-Statics Integration into an Engineering Mechanics-                       Statics Course: Development and Scaling               Jack LeskoA, Jack DukeA, Seigfried HolzerB, Flynn AucheyC                   A                    Department of Engineering Science & Mechanics                 B                  Via Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering                         C                           Department of Building Construction                                     Virginia Tech                               Blacksburg, Virginia 24061           Proceedings of the 1999 American Society for Engineering Education                             Annual Conference & Exposition                                      Section 1368
AU  - Luciano Fleischfresser
AU  - Mariana Nascimento Casarin
AU  - Evandro Eizo Roncaglia Yabushita
CY  - San Antonio, Texas
DA  - 2012/06/10
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - A Physical Model for the Dot Product: Does it Improve Learning of Vector Mechanics?
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/20846
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--20846
ER  -